Green Eggs And Ham, Sam I Am?

01/09/2010

The ALP today signed an agreement with the Greens. And with that, the lines have been redrawn.

When the Independents hit the airwaves last week, it was obvious to all that there was some consensus but not full consensus to the concept of Climate Change. While Bob Katter and Tony Windsor and Rob Oakeshott argued against the need for a Carbon Tax, they did not say they think Climate Change was crap. Far from it. What they said was lets look at what we can do to counter the threat now and if after we have tried all that and there is still a problem, then we will look at other options. Who would have imagined the Katter in the hat enjoying a serve of green eggs and ham. In moderation of course.

When the announcement hit the media waves re the ALP/GRN alliance, Tony Abbot’s chances of becoming a Prime Minister of a stable and full term government was taken away from him. His refusal to even consider talking to the Greens has now seen him lose that option for at least three years and with that his chance to push any of his policies through the upper house. In other words a Coalition government has been hog-tied before it can even forms. Even if the Independents opt to anoint him in the top job, he will have to have all his policies reassessed to make them acceptable to the Senate. Tony Abbott is lying in the muck he chose to make.

Apparently the Coalition did not even consider to talk to the Greens. Instead, Tony Abbott picked up the phone early in the week and called Senator Steven Fielding. Or should I say ex-Senator Fielding. Fielding hit the airwaves talking like a member of the Liberal party. He announced that he would have to consider blocking supply in the Senate because, and he quoted Abbott’s speech writer, ‘the ALP had lost its legitamacy’. What a catch phrase! Of course what Abbott and Fielding refused to discuss is the Coalition had not gain a legitimacy either. By mid morning, Tony Abbott was forced to discredit Fielding’s stance of blocking supply. It had blown up in his face.

It is true the ALP failed to gain the numbers it needed. So it began a process of dialogue. They talked to all the independents AND they talked to the Greens. Conversely, Tony Abbott wrote the last option off. Now it has come back to add to the reasons why he should not be Prime Minister. Julia Gillard, in her press conference that afternoon clearly said that she is still in talks with all the independents including Tony Crook who had made it quite clear that the Mining Tax was an issue for him. But still, she is engaged in dialogue. Conversely, Tony Abbott did not consider dealing with the Greens in either the senate or the house of representatives and now he is in deep doo-doo of his own making.

He now has to explain to the Independents why he chose to shut off dialogue and how that is a part of his new kinder gentler approach of government. Instead, he seems to be hell-bent on sticking to his “my way or the highway” approach. It was pure arrogance in my opinion to not deal with other minor parties. He had assumed he would have the numbers and he would be able to push anything he wanted regardless of what others wanted. It is not his first failure post the election and it may not be his last.

This afternoon, the independents are sitting with the heads of treasury and going through the costings of the government and the opposition. Julia Gillard has again publically asked the independents to reveal what they have discovered to the Australian public and urged Tony Abbott to make the same offer. The Coalition however continue to shun the public and have refused to let their costing be known via the independents.

To me, this has always been the nail in the Coalition’s hopes to govern. And if Tony does not trust the public to see what he has on the table, then the public trust for his party will continue to evaporate.

The other thing about this new agreement is it will now no doubt stop the call from Coalition sycophants for another election. With a combined coalition primary vote of 44%, they now face a combined ALP/GRN primary vote of 49%.

Mark my words. There will be no talk of another election now. Watch it disappear from the pages of The Australian. Not that they were biased in any way. *cough splutter choke*